Taliban threatens more violence after US rejects talks

The latest round of attacks in Kabul by the Taliban were a direct challenge to Trump, who had asserted on January 16 that the US troops had made "tremendous strides" in fighting the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban.

Reported by: IANS, Kabul [ Published on: January 30, 2018 19:29 IST ]

Taliban fighters

The Taliban on Tuesday threatened the US with more violence and bloodshed after Washington ruled out peace talks with the rebels for unleashing a wave of carnage on Afghanistan.

Taliban militants, who have until now systematically rejected the Afghan government's call for dialogue, said in a statement that US President Donald Trump and his allies have been "advocating war and not peace", Efe news reported.

"Trump and his pro-war allies should understand that each action has a reaction. If you are emphasizing on war, then we Mujahid nation also can't welcome you with flowers," the statement said.

"Although our enemy only emphasize on war, we believe our nation's undefeatable resistance and endless patience will finally make the invaders accept the truth and come to the negotiation table," said Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah.

The statement added that Afghanistan "has a long history of defeating arrogant invaders" which is why Trump's refusal to talks will only "boost the human and material losses of the American military manifold".

On Monday, during a lunch at the White House with the ambassadors of member countries of the UN Security Council, Trump said: "Innocent people are being killed left and right by the Taliban. Bombing in the middle of children, in the middle of families -- bombing, killing all over Afghanistan.

"So there's no talking to the Taliban. We do not want to talk to the Taliban.

"We're going to finish what we have to finish," he said. "What nobody else has been able to finish, we're going to be able to do it."

The latest round of attacks in Kabul by the Taliban were a direct challenge to Trump, who had asserted on January 16 that the US troops had made "tremendous strides" in fighting the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban.

He had said the South Asia policy he had announced last August was "working far more rapidly than anybody would understand".

Taliban terrorists attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on January 21-22, killing 22 people including 14 foreigners.

The IS militants killed at least four people in an attack on the outpost of a British organisation, Save the Children, in Jalalabad on January 24.

On January 27, they struck again with an ambulance loaded with explosives killing 103 people. On Monday, IS terrorists attacked a military base in Kabul, killing 11 soldiers.

In recent times, the Afghan government has pushed for talks through the Kabul Process, a peace mechanism it launched along with the UN and the international community following an attack in May 2017 that had left 150 dead in the Afghan capital.

The Taliban rejected the Kabul Process as well as a G4 peace initiative involving Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US.